Madeleine McCann's parents expected to be formally cleared today

Jul 21 2008

The parents of missing Madeleine McCann, Kate and Gerry _320

KATE and Gerry McCann are widely expected to be formally cleared today by the Portuguese authorities of involvement in their daughter Madeleine’s disappearance.

Portugal’s attorney-general, Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro, has promised to announce a “solution” to a case that has gripped the world since Madeleine vanished on May 3 last year.

But it is believed that police and prosecutors will be forced to admit they cannot prove what happened to Madeleine and must therefore shelve the inquiry.

More than 14 months after the child went missing, Mr McCann and his Liverpool-born wife, both 40, remain “arguidos”, or formal suspects, in the case.

In recent weeks Portuguese newspapers, citing anonymous sources, have repeated-ly reported that police have not found enough evidence to lay charges.

The couple’s spokes-man, Clarence Mitchell, said the couple would not comment prior to any announcements.